“How can three young women be held hostage for ten years in a house in a crowded subdivision and the neighbors not know it?” That perplexing question kept popping into my mind last week as I learned about the well-publicized kidnapping in Cleveland, Ohio. For the most part the neighbors weren’t even suspicious about what was transpiring in the home of Ariel Castro just a few feet away. How could they not know something atrocious was going on?

Actually, most of us don’t know much about our neighbors anymore. We may learn their names and what they do for a living but that’s about it. We know very little about their personal lives…especially if they send clear signals they value privacy. If a neighbor obviously wants to live in secrecy we let them. Even Anthony Castro, the abductor’s son, who visited his father on rare occasions, said he did not know why his dad’s basement and attic doors were always locked. But he never became curious enough to investigate.

Here’s one of the ways that followers of Jesus Christ should be distinctive: we are instructed to take a genuine interest in those around us. We shouldn’t be nosy neighbors or busybodies, but we are commanded to, “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Do you have a neighbor who doesn’t know the Lord? Maybe they live in seclusion and have little interaction with others. Maybe they’ve made it quite clear they would rather not be bothered. The temptation is to respect their wishes and leave them alone. But we need to be proactive. They need Christ more than anything. They are hurting, even if they don’t admit it or want to talk about it. They need to find release from their addictions, forgiveness of their sins, fellowship with others and the hope of eternal life.

Besides they may be holding hostages–not the kind that are bound and gagged in the basement, but the kind that are spiritually helpless just the same. Little children in many homes are being held in spiritual bondage prevented from learning right from wrong and never hearing the gospel. How can they be held hostage right next door and we not notice?

Be a good Samaritan. Take some food over. Invite your neighbors into your home for dessert. Mow their grass or rake their leaves. Take them a gift certificate. At least speak to them and strike up a conversation. Maybe you can gain enough credibility to invite them to church or talk with them about the Lord. Maybe they’ll agree to let you take their children to a youth program or a Christian camp where they can learn about Jesus.

Caleb Kaltenbach attended one of my mentoring groups a few years ago. He shared with us that he was raised in an unbelieving home. His parents divorced when he was three years old. When their marriage ended, both parents became involved in homosexual relationships. His mother was on the board of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and took young Caleb to gay bars and gay parades. What chance would he have to ever know the Lord?

One day when Caleb was a teenager, a neighbor invited him to join his Bible Study group. Caleb decided he would attend in order to learn how to disprove the Bible. After studying the Bible for several months, he came to the conclusion that the Bible was true and wound up becoming a Christian.

A few days later, his neighbor invited Caleb to attend a Christ in Youth conference with him. A week to the day after he was baptized, at the end of one of the conference sessions, Caleb went forward at the invitation and dedicated his life to full-time ministry.

Caleb Kaltenbach is now the very effective pastor of the Valley View Christian Church in Dallas, Texas. The church is growing and has a compassionate ministry to hurting people. While his parents were initially disturbed by his decision to become a Christian and shocked by his call to ministry, both are now attending the church where he is preaching. His mom has made a profession of faith in Christ and his dad just last week asked about baptism.

That dramatic family turnaround occurred because a neighbor refused to be intimidated by the unfriendly atmosphere next door.

“Go and do likewise.”